Chapter 15 Holly
HOLLY
“Ready, Miss Price?” Snyder asked.
Gulp. I swiped my sweaty palms on my pants, nervously gripping the material. “Are you sure he’s fine with only talking?”
“SPTD acknowledged his orders.”
“Which were…?”
A file popped up on the view screen before me.
Engage human female for breeding. Gain her trust and assist her with choosing members to form a new compatible squad.
My stomach flip flopped. “That doesn’t say anything about talking first.”
“SPTD, as an addendum to your orders, this first meeting with Holly is conversational only. Please acknowledge.”
“Addendum acknowledged,” a male voice answered. Deeper than Snyder’s but not as bass as Syko’s. It could be fake, but I’d know in a few minutes if they were trying to be sneaky.
Swallowing my dread, I held out my right wrist. While Snyder put the teleport bracelet on and adjusted it to stay locked, I gave myself a pep talk.
This is just a first date. You’ve survived bad first dates before. He can’t be worse than Brandon. Though he didn’t try to eat me on our first date. Ha. He never ate me. Not once. Not that I wanted him to.
“The training room is programmed to simulate the jungles of Guatemala,” Snyder said. “We thought it might put you more at ease to be in a familiar location. Take a stroll, enjoy the scenery, and talk. That’s all.”
Nodding, I took a deep, steadying breath. “What is—”
Everything went black. All my senses. I couldn’t hear or feel or see anything.
Then jungle sounds washed over me. The screech of night birds and insects. Lush vegetation. Humid, warm air.
“—Teleportation like?” I finished the sentence I’d started.
“It’s like jumping, if you’ve traveled with a BGR,” the same male voice I’d heard earlier replied from behind me. Because of course I got dumped into this exercise with the threat fucking behind me.
I whirled around so fast I staggered. The dynos’ head jerked back slightly, his black eyes widening, though no whites showed. He stood ten paces away. Close enough to easily chase me if I decided to bolt, but not close enough to breathe down my neck.
“Though there are limitations,” he said slowly, lifting his hands, palms out. “Am I conversing in the correct language, Holly?”
For a moment, all I could do was stare. He was bigger than Snryx.
Wider, thicker, built with heavy shoulders and tree-trunk thighs.
I’d seen the picture, of course, but it hadn’t captured the sheer scale of his size.
Even his feet and hands were huge. His skin was a deep, vibrant red.
No hair, as expected, but no implements, either.
Not like Snryx’s tentacles that coiled down his back whether he was his SPX or humanoid.
“Where are your implements?” My voice quivered a little, my heart still pattering far too fast. Though my brain was engaged in question mode.
He turned his head to the side and pointed to a black circular spot where his ear should be. “They’re retracted inside until I need them. Since I only have two, they’re more sensitive to damage and are safer inside my skull.”
Which explained the more hammerhead oblong shape of his skull. I ran my gaze down his barrel chest and tried to skip over his penis but it was absolutely distracting. The longer I looked at it, the more he—it—responded.
There’s no way that’s going to fit inside me. Blushing, I dragged my gaze away to the trees. Oh really? Pretty sure Syko was even bigger.
“In hindsight, my designers should have engineered my genitals to be retracted as well. Though I suppose they didn’t expect me to ever need to use or protect them, not like my implements. Some dyni can retract theirs inside their bodies, depending on what they’re crossed with.”
“Rizan has two dicks,” I blurted.
Then immediately blushed even more, my face so hot I resisted the urge to fan myself. “Sorry, never in a million years should first date conversations include genital comparisons.”
“We can converse on any topics you wish. If I’m unfamiliar with the subject, I’ll query my databanks or ask Snyder for access.”
I snuck a quick glance over at him. He didn’t appear to be embarrassed or upset, though his erection was still half-mast. “How do you know Snyder?”
Rekt blinked, red eyelids completely concealing both of his eyes for a moment. “He’s an agent representing unknown controllers outside of DSC. That is the extent of my knowledge. Who’s Rizan?”
“He’s a Comms specialist in Natalie’s squad. Pteron class.”
“One of the few dyni that are still hatched in large numbers.”
I started to walk toward the trees. Rekt fell into step beside me. Close but not close enough I felt the urge to put distance between us. “Not engineered, then. Why in large numbers?”
“Culling. Natural selection at its finest. It’s not uncommon for an entire aviary to be exterminated until only the survivors are passed on into the program.”
Aw. Poor Rizan. Or maybe not. How many little pterodactyls had he eliminated to make it into Dynosauros? I probably didn’t want to know. “You were engineered, not hatched, right?”
“I am experimental, so yes, completely engineered.”
“What was your life like before this?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Slowing, I paused beneath a large ceiba. Thick spikes covered its bark, and it towered over us, easily a hundred feet tall. Thick buttress roots spread across the ground, making treacherous little valleys and holes.
“Regretfully, I’m unable to answer your question, Holly. I have no memories of missions before this one.”
“What do you remember?”
His chin tipped up slightly as he studied the tree branches spreading above us. “Waking up in my sleeping chamber with orders to meet you.”
Not meet me. Breed me. I was his mission.
“I’d have told Snyder to go fuck himself.”
“Perhaps agents could simulate coitus though I’m having a difficult time picturing it.”
I had to laugh. “I didn’t mean actual sex. It’s slang. Syko said he could adjust his mannerisms to better match mine, including cursing. Is that something you can do too?”
Rekt blinked again. “Language update applied, motherfucker.”
Another laugh escaped, even louder this time. Easier. “That’s more like it.”
He grinned, flashing gleaming white, sharp teeth. “I like the sound of your laughter, Holly.”
“I’m glad. What do you find funny?”
His eyes flared. “I don’t know. I can’t recall laughing.”
“Then it’ll be my first mission to make you laugh.”
“That would be…” He stared at me, his voice softening. “Unexpected. Greatly appreciated but unexpected.”
I wanted to tell him about Syko. How we’d been able to share a private grid before he destroyed it to protect us both. If I could bounce ideas off someone else about how to break him out…
But everything I said and did inside this room would be heavily monitored. I couldn’t tell where the cameras were hidden beneath the lush branches and ferns. For all I knew, every leaf and blade of grass was capturing my words. The bracelet was probably monitoring my heart rate like an Apple Watch.
Frustration grated through me. Impatience made me twitchy. Syko was trapped in that tiny prison cell until we managed to break him out. I needed help. Serious help.
Without letting Snyder know about it.
Syko said I’d contaminated him. That’s when he’d started to converse on the private grid with me. But he’d known how to keep it secure from DSC. Had it been my blood that gave him mrions? Or was it easier than that?
Natalie had only touched me for a few seconds. She certainly hadn’t bled on me.
But I had to be careful. I didn’t know how many mrions I still had. If I gave some to Rekt and Snyder found them, he’d eliminate them for sure. I had a feeling we’d need every single last cell to get the fuck out of here.
Trying to play it cool, I sat on one of the higher roots and closed my eyes. In my mind, I found the tiny, protected secret room. Deep, vibrant indigo gleamed all around me. Feeling a little ridiculous, I thought a question. :Is there a way for me to talk to Rekt without Snyder knowing?:
:Yes.:
Startled, my eyes flew open. I opened my mouth but closed it without saying anything.
Damn it. I wanted to ask someone about communicating with the mrions, or Sirian cells.
The voice had sounded like me, not like DSC or Snyder.
But how could I be sure they hadn’t infiltrated me? When I wasn’t even aware of the mrions?
Rekt stepped closer, eyes narrowed and intense. Or maybe that was just his unusual eyes. I might be reading interest in his gaze that wasn’t there.
“When you talk on the grid to Snyder or DSC, what’s that like?”
“I hear the reply inside my skull as if it’s my own thoughts.”
“But it’s different voices, not your voice?”
“Correct. Plus there’s an inherent signature in the logs that helps me automatically identify whose voice is speaking.”
Damn it. I wished again for Rizan’s easy and quick expertise. “Are all your thoughts on the grid automatically?”
“Yes. I’m fully connected to this facility’s private grid. My Sirian cells integrate automatically.”
In the private mind space, I whispered, :Could we connect to the facility’s private grid?:
:Yes.:
:Without being detected?:
:Yes, for a time. We can estimate the probability and elapsed time to detection once we infiltrate the grid.:
:How is that possible? How are we communicating now? Are you really inside me? Part of me?:
I closed my eyes again, and the streams around me brightened to deep violet.
:We are Myrm from the Mother. She sent us.
We laid the infrastructure for communication throughout your neural network to receive and transmit electronic impulses to systems outside of your physical body.
We are the interface that allows the connections to other systems. Any system can be infiltrated.
Depending on the sensitivity of their security systems, we may lie undetected for years. :
Natalie was the Mother. :What did she ask you to do to me?:
:Help my friend achieve everything she’s always desired.:
Aw. My eyes filled up with tears.
“Holly? Are you well? Shall I leave?”
I opened my eyes. For a moment, I honestly forgot the other dynos was here. Watching every move I made. Along with Snyder. Careful. We have to be so careful.
:Agreed,: the mrions whispered back.
:How will I know if I can trust him?:
The curtains of data fluttered around the secret space, flaring with droplets of lavender. :You are compatible. If you touch him, we can infiltrate. If you share fluids with him, you will begin the bonding through combined nucleic acid structure.:
Which meant our DNA would change. That was freaky. Though evidently that was already happening inside me. I wasn’t exactly human any longer, not with Myrm cells giving me the physical ability to run a mile in less than four minutes. :Is that how Natalie bonded with the squad?:
:Yes. Initially, she needed DNA from each dynos to complete the fragments. Now we are complete.:
:How can you infiltrate without DSC or Snyder discovering you?:
:A single mrion is impossible to detect. We’re only detectible when we begin multiplying in order to change the host’s structure.:
Multiplying… So maybe I didn’t have to worry about running out of available mrions. :Are you multiplying inside me?:
:Yes. Our rate of replication is currently unchecked. Would you like to reduce or control the rate?:
I had a feeling I’d need all the help I could get—especially to free Syko. :No. Do whatever you think we need to change in order to survive.:
:We understand.:
I focused on Rekt, hovering a few paces away, his brow furrowed while he studied me intently.
I had to remember he was a specialist, fully programmed in his field with skills I couldn’t begin to understand.
He’d be as brilliant as Lohr and Snryx, and right now, he was on Snyder’s side, whether he meant to be or not. Though maybe I could bring him over.
As long as I didn’t have to fuck him right away.
Though as soon as I thought it, I couldn’t help but run my gaze over him from head to toe again.
He didn’t creep me out. In fact, I found myself wondering what it’d be like to touch him.
I could see him so clearly, where with Syko, it’d been so dark and cramped I had no real idea what he looked like.
He’d been all danger, teeth and claws, violence simmering throughout his massive body.
Rekt looked at me and saw… What? A science experiment? Something he wanted to cut open and dissect maybe.
“Could I touch you?” I asked softly. “To see what your skin feels like?”
He stepped closer and dropped to his knees in front of me. Close enough I could easily touch him without having to stretch out. To his credit, he didn’t press in too close, butt into my space, or demand equal measure. “Touch me as you wish, Holly.”
Slowly, I reached out with both hands, wrapping my fingers around his massive hand. I lifted our clasped hands, turning his palm over in my left hand. Stroking my fingers gently over his skin. “Oh, wow, your body temperature is warmer than I expected.”
Silently, I told the mrions, :Infiltrate him. Hide from DSC and Snyder. See if we can trust him.:
I didn’t feel anything happen but trusted one of them moved from my hand into his.
“My baseline temperature is nine degrees higher than yours. Though if you find it unpleasant, I can regulate myself cooler.”
I couldn’t help a wry huff escaping my lips. “Most men won’t change anything about themselves to be with a woman. Yet you’re offering to change your body temperature.”
“Males who are lucky enough to be in the presence of a female should take note and correct such despicable behavior.”
I felt bad sneaking a mrion into him without his permission, especially given he seemed so understanding and likable.
Up close, he was even larger despite being on his knees.
He didn’t make any threatening movements.
In fact, he simply waited on me to direct him.
But I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if Snyder gave him new orders to breed. Right now.
I was under no illusions. Rekt was programmed to obey his orders.
So I needed to shift his thinking into only accepting my orders. Until then, he would be an enemy. Not an ally.
Certainly no one I could trust.